Bloggers love nothing more than to sit around with other bloggers talking about blogging. I know that may not sound very interesting to the rest of the world but it is an infinitely interesting topic to us. It’s still something of a nascent industry and we don’t have too many people to talk to about it outside of each other. It’s new enough that I often find myself having to explain exactly what it is I do for a living. It often becomes easier to simply say I am a writer or that I run a website. Those are respectable professions, it would seem. But a blogger is still a bit suspect, someone who doesn’t really want to work at all, just wants to throw some words and pictures up on the internet. If only they knew just how hard we actually work.

So it’s immensely gratifying to get together with other bloggers and brainstorm, talk about what works, what doesn’t, what the new trend is. In late January, I gathered with 10 other Pacific Northwest food bloggers for a three day retreat so that we could talk about blogging all. day. long. It was glorious! And it just so happens that I was co-organizer of this intimate event, along with my friend Alyssa of EveryDay Maven. I think that Alyssa and I need to pat ourselves on the back for this one. It went beautifully and we had a really wonderful mix of people, topics, and activities.

We aimed for a very local, PNW-oriented event, and we were hosted by McMenamin’s Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, OR. McMenamin’s is quite legendary around these parts, having snapped up a number of old historic properties and turned them into interesting restaurants, hotels, and brew pubs. They are all different and all incredibly unique, and the Grand Lodge was no exception. It used to be a Masonic retirement home and the rooms are all decorated in different themes, many named after former residents of the home. It has a bit of a fun-but-creepy element to it, with rumours of the Lilac Lady ghost wandering the halls.

The Grand Lodge was undergoing some extensive renovations while we were there, to create more guest rooms on the third floor. We got a sneak peek of the rooms (which are now all finished and ready for guests) and the fun “secret passageway” made to look like Gollum’s Cave. Really, staying at the Grand Lodge is an adventure unto itself, with great pubs and restaurants, a spa, a soaking pool, a movie theatre, and weekend entertainment all right there on the premises. They don’t have a brewery at this particular McMenamin’s but they do have a fermentation chamber and we were treated to a tour and a tasting of some seriously spicy kimchi, as well as some shrub-based cocktails (shrubs are sweet drinking vinegars).

The town of Forest Grove is a sleepy little place just off Highway 26 as you head from Portland to the Oregon Coast. But it’s also smack in the middle of Tualatin Valley wine country. Travel Oregon and the Washington County Visitors Association were eager to show it off to us and took us out for an evening of sake tasting at Sake One, one of the best craft sake distilleries in the country. We then headed over to Bites Restaurant, which specialized in Korean fusion. It was brightly lit and welcoming and the food was fabulous. And they were more than willing to serve me a Bulgogi burger on a lettuce wrap.

There was a bit of a mix up on our second evening, where we were meant to be dining at one place and ended up at another. We made the drive over to Dayton, OR in the Willamette Valley, famous for its Pinot Noir. Despite the confusion, we had a delicious multi-course tasting meal at The Barlow Room. Kudos go to the kitchen and wait staff there for scrambling to accommodate and serve us. They were utterly gracious and handled it all with aplomb. It’s a restaurant I would highly recommend, if you are in the area.

So yes, it’s clear we had some fun times and ate some REALLY good food. But we also did a lot of real work while we were there. Every morning was spent in a conference room, discussing the topics most pertinent to food bloggers. What a great group of women we had assembled, each bringing a unique voice and perspective to the table so that we could all learn from each other. I am grateful for all of them. Dara (Cookin’ Canuck), Taylor (Food Faith Fitness), Heather (Farmgirl Gourmet and the entrepreneur behind Spiceologist), Fabiola (Not Just Baked), Karista (Karista’s Kitchen), Meghan (Fox and Briar), Samantha (Little Ferraro Kitchen), Dani (The Adventure Bite), and Deseree (Life’s Ambrosia). And of course, my awesome co-host, Alyssa of EveryDay Maven. She’s a powerhouse, that one, and I am just happy to ride her coattails most of the time. And she stepped up to the plate when my dad died in December, taking over much of the organization so I could focus on family. Love you, girl!

Of course, you can’t pull off an event like this without sponsors. Well, unless you happen to be independently wealthy (which, for the record, I am not). Alyssa and I decided early on that we wanted our sponsors to be local to the Pacific Northwest. I was delighted to be able to bring two of my favourite brands, Bob’s Red Mill and Organic Valley, on board. Organic Valleyis national, of course, but did you know that they work with local farmers and distribute the milk, cream and yogurt locally? So the cream I use over here in Portland is sourced from local PNW farmers, whereas the cream you’re using in Boston is local from New England. I am never without their cream, pasture butter, and grass milk yogurt in my fridge. They supplied us with plenty of these items, along with some of the amazing raw cheddar, for our coffee and snack breaks.

And Bob’s…yay, Bob’s Red Mill! We low carbers love our Bob’s but it turns out that “regular” people do too. They gave us granola, oatmeal, and some of the new Paleo Muesli, along with a fruit platter, for one of our morning breaks. Can I just tell you that the Paleo Muesli with some Organic Valley whipping cream is a divine low carb snack? Just saying…

On the dairy-free front, Pacific Foods provided us with a wonderful selection of their nut milks and hemp milk. I hadn’t tried the hemp milk before but Alyssa swears by it. It seems to be a great nut-free and dairy-free alternative (comes in at 1g of carbs per cup) so I’ve been making myself some healthy cappuccinos lately. I plan to test drive it in baking as well. New Seasons Market also sponsored one of our lunches. Have I ever mentioned how much I love New Seasons? It’s like Whole Foods but better, in my opinion. Great selection, locally based, and it has wonderful initiatives for local entrepreneurs, to help them get onto store shelves. I love going to New Seasons and wandering the aisles looking for new and exciting products.

We also had Mary’s Harvest sponsor a snack break, and our gift bags included treats from the Seattle Chocolates J.CoCo line. And the San Juan Islands travel bureau put together a gift bag highlighting all they have to offer as well. I need to make it a priority to get up there and do some exploring! Are we an incredibly lucky group of bloggers or what?

So of course my recipe for the day features several of these wonderful sponsors. And since it’s Girl Scout cookie season, I just couldn’t resist making Samoas. In cake form, naturally…

In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs, butter, water, and vanilla extract until well combined.

Divide between the prepared baking pans and smooth the tops. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until cakes are set and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool completely in the pans.

Coconut Frosting:

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter with the Yacon or molasses over low heat. Once melted, stir in the powdered sweetener and caramel flavour until smooth. Stir in the whipping cream and the shredded coconut.

Place one layer of the cake on a serving platter and spread with half of the coconut frosting. Top with the second layer and spread that with the remaining frosting.

Chocolate Ganache:

In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the cream until steaming (do not let it simmer, so watch carefully). Add the chopped chocolate and let melt, about 4 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

Recipe Notes

Serves 16. This is a big, rich cake and we found small slices to be best! Each slice has 3.47g NET CARBS.

Nutritional Disclaimer

Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program.
I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them.
I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.

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You are the best! I am so glad we did this together – it was so awesome!! And, this cake is ridiculous. I am still standing here screaming, “Open a Low Carb bakery in Portland and ship all over the US” SCREAMING IT. Love you! xoxo

It was such a wonderful retreat! You and Alyssa thought of everything. The food was wonderful and I am still thinking about that shrub cocktail. I learned so much from all of you ladies and at the same time had so much fun! Even if I didn’t have any cash 😉 This cake looks pretty amazing, I have never worked with coconut flour but I am thinking I need to get me some ASAP.

Made a few modifications. Used only 1/2 the frosting (between the layers) because Swerve confectioner is far too sweet for me these days. No ganache. Added 1/2 copped walnuts between the layers (I imagine chopped pecans would be really good too). I also had no shredded coconut, but used flaked. Very good.

Can also see cutting the recipe in 1/2 and making 1 round tin with Reduced amount of frosting because it is so sweet, small slices really do suffice with a cup of coffee or glass of dry red.

I only had 4 eggs, so I made a half batch of cake batter, and made 18 cupcakes with i (they are thin cupcakes–i like them thin). I sort of made a full batch of icing (except I replaced the 1 cup of confectioners swerve with half a cup of powdered erythritol and added stevia glycerite to taste). I didn’t make the ganache at all (it was wonderful without it,, and I was really ready to be done cooking). Ive been piling a bunch of the icing onto my thin cupcakes, and they are divine. My Mom also gives them two thumbs up. Thank you!

You are the best, thank you so much! That was such an awesome trip with the best group of women, so much love! I loved that hotel, it was the most unique and thoughtful place I’ve ever stayed. Our snack brands, the food, everything we shared and learned from one another, priceless. xoxo

I made this for our monthly family birthday dinner as an alternative to my mother’s traditional chocolate birthday cake and everybody who tried it loved it, even those not on the keto diet. The only problem I had was with the cake sticking to the sides of the pans even though I buttered the sides and lined the bottoms with parchment. Perhaps I needed to REALLY grease them. The parchment paper worked well and the bottom didn’t stick at all. Thanks for this recipe; I need to do more baking!

I had to buy girl scout samoa cookies from my neighbors’ daughter to be supportive but I couldn’t eat any of them due to the high sugar!Now I can make this decadent cake instead..yay!Thank you so much for all the recipes you put up-they’ve helped me immensely with my transition to an LCHF diet especially when it comes to satisfying my sweet tooth!Btw is there a non-dairy replacement for whipping cream?Could i use coconut cream instead?

Finally got around to making this delightful cake. I considered lining the pans with parchment rounds but decided not too, which was a big mistake. This was painful to get out of the pans, but I soldiered on and although it looked a bit rough, it tasted amazing. It was a huge hit with my family (3 of us are on low carb diet, and my son is just going along for the ride)
I really liked the ease of mixing this batter and the fact the cake did not need to be refrigerated, it also gave me lots of ideas for other cakes, German chocolate with the addition of pecans to the frosting or Black Forest with a filling of cherry sauce. The sky is the limit as they say!
Thanks again for a wonderful dessert

Carolyn, would you please describe your coconut a bit? Or perhaps what you DO with it before using? I’ve used shredded dried coconut from several different sources, and I’m thoroughly disappointed. The coconut never seems to hydrate or soften. Before using, I’ve tried soaking it overnight; boiling it– and then letting it soak overnight; and moistening it with glycerin. Yesterday, I located a package (locally) of frozen grated coconut (much more expensive than dried) and I’m going to try that. But if there’s some sort of “trick” to using the dried stuff, I’d love to know what it is!

Wowza! This cake is amazing. Made it to take to a church service for a sugar free option and I had several tell me how it didn’t have that sugar-free aftertaste. I did use Pyure since I didn’t have access to Swerve, but I plan on ordering some to try. And it was refrigerated overnight before serving, It was wonderful. I never make comments, but had to let you know and thank you for your wonderful blog and work that goes into it! I also made your zucchini lemon blueberry cake and coconut cream pie with the pressed crust. Also fabulous. I had compliments all weekend. I recommended your blog numerous times. ♡

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Looking for the best low carb recipes? You've come to the right place! I'm Carolyn, a major carnivore and an unrepentant sweet tooth. Here you will find all you need to enjoy the low carb keto lifestyle to the fullest! Read more